Amethyst from Brazil

They are visually stunning and have been in demand for many centuries. Its name derives from the Greek "amethystos", which means "not drunken", as Amethyst in ages past was thought to ward off drunkenness. This gemstone is also said to protect its wearer against seduction. Moses described it as a symbol of the Spirit of God in the official robes of the High Priest of the Jews. If this stone were not so readily available it would be extremely expensive based upon demand.

The color of some Amethyst may slowly fade upon constant exposure to light. Amethyst changes color when it is heated. Amethyst is sometimes heat treated to deepen its color, or to transform it into Citrine. The color of certain varieties can change to a light green color, which is called "Prasiolite". Smoky colored stones can be transformed to a yellow to brownish-red and clear ones may become yellow. The natural geothermal heating sometimes creates multi-color stones, like the specimens found in Bolivia, a variety called Ametrine.

One of the best websites we have found to help "Identify the Location" your specimens came from is www.galleries.com/Amethyst They have an excellent section describing the specimen formations from most of the source locales for Amethyst such as Uruguay, Brazil, Thunder Bay Canada, Mexico and Africa

Brazilian Amethyst crystals are attractive to look at and form in drusy coatings that line the inside of sometimes large volcanic pockets or “vugs”. Some of the vugs form from trees that were engulfed in a lava flow while other vugs are gas bubbles trapped in the lava. Brazilian vugs can be very large and form crystals that are pale lavender to dark purple in color. Please note that on large heavy specimens crystal tips are extremely likely to have extraction damage on outer edges or extended crystal tips. This is common on larger heavier specimens and can be expected unless otherwise stated in the item description. The quality of these for gemstones is not as good as others due to the fact that the color is not consistent throughout the crystal but is on the outer surfaces and on the tops of the crystals. Most clusters form with gray, white and blue agate and have a green exterior on the vugs. Inclusions of calcite and cacoxenite are common.